WFMJ.com News weather sports for Youngstown-Warren OhioWhat Works: Dorothy Day House of Hospitality

What Works: Dorothy Day House of Hospitality

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Building personal relationships is at the core of what the Dorothy Day House of Hospitality does.

The sense of belonging felt inside the Dorothy Day House of Hospitality is part of the reason why some keep coming back night after night.

"Like a family. I got to know so many people here," said Shirley Nerone, a Youngstown resident who goes to the house for dinner regularly.

The house on Belmont Avenue in Youngstown is part of the Catholic Worker Movement. Its mission is to create a community on personal relationships.

Sr. Ann McManamon, coordinator of the Youngstown Dorothy Day House, said "That's the unique piece that begins all of this, so that we can effectively deliver hospitality and protest for those justices that become injustices in the lives of the poor."

Teams of volunteers provide an evening meal Monday through Thursday, provide an opportunity for people to plant and harvest a garden, provide access to a shower every Tuesday afternoon, and provide a safe place to relax.

Aundrey Bouie was homeless, but he now lives and works here. "I clean, I do the garden, I maintain the grounds," he said.

McManamon said a third of the guests are homeless, a third are underemployed, and a third are unemployed. Volunteers often serve 100 guests in an evening.

McManamon said, "There is a change and there is an addition this year that is considerable I think."

The Youngstown house opened in 2009. It is one of more than 200 communities around the world. Journalist turned social activist Dorothy Day and philosopher Peter Maurin started the Catholic Worker Movement in New York during the Great Depression.

"She (Dorothy Day) opened her home to people on the street both to have food and to sleep and have rest and it grew," said McManamon.

Now Day's granddaughter is part of the community in New York and has served as a mentor for the Youngstown house.

The house runs on donations. Two months ago several items were stolen, including the sign, but now a new donated sign is being installed.

McManamon says the good thing is the guests respect the place and gain a broader awareness of the common good.

Bouie said "I guess it makes you believe in Youngstown.  I guess I can't turn on Youngstown because of the Dorothy Day House."

The volunteers are providing more than food, they're providing hope and dignity.

Currently the group is need of donations to beautify the property adjacent to the garden and to paint the house.